In my personal experience, the more expensive a toaster is, the shorter the life span. My ex-H bought a toaster for about $50, maybe more, and it lasted less than a year. I went to the garage and took out the toaster that I had bought nine years earlier when I graduated from college and it is still working today.

When I moved out, I promptly went to Walmart and bought a $20 toaster. So far, so good.

We received a toaster oven for our wedding, in July '06, and about a year ago we would have flaming bagels. Seriously, our bagels would be on fire. I knew it was from BB&B and our registry was still active, so I e-mailed them and and they said to bring it in for either a cash refund or a new toaster. At the time, though, the only thing they had in the store were convection toaster ovens that were about $40-50 more than the amount of my simple toaster oven. I took the cash and bought a simple one at Target that has served us nicely in the past year.